Biotech Aqemia has received a $7.4M grant to expand and and accelerate of its computational platform to target RNA therapeutics, marking a significant step in the company’s broader mission to innovate drug discovery using generative AI.
The grant is awarded as part of the "France 2030" initiative. It will specifically bolster the company’s generative AI platform, enhancing its ability to handle the complex, flexible structures of RNA and proteins. Aqemia plans to use this funding to explore RNA and RNA-modifying targets experimentally, refining its AI-driven approach and furthering its capabilities in drug discovery.
The company’s physics-enabled generative AI engine, which has already delivered success in epitranscriptomics, is now poised to make strides in targeting RNA, a highly complex class of therapeutic targets.
In parallel to advancing its RNA-focused initiatives, Aqemia continues to make progress in its broader pipeline, including drug discovery programs targeting proteins. The company is positioning itself to develop novel small-molecule drugs aimed at RNA, which represents an emerging and promising class of therapeutic targets.
The flexibility and structural complexity of RNA have long made it a challenging target for therapeutic development. Despite these challenges, RNA plays a crucial role in gene regulation and expression, especially in diseases such as cancer, making it an important target for innovative drug discovery. With its generative AI platform, Aqemia is looking to overcome the obstacles traditionally associated with RNA-targeting drug discovery.
Dr. Maximilien Levesque, CEO and Co-Founder of Aqemia, commented on the new funding:
“This funding enables us to extend the reach of our technology to previously unexplored targets, opening the door to new classes of treatments.
"Integrating RNA targeting into our platform reinforces our ambition to transform the invention of new therapeutic solutions for patients. We are grateful for the continued support that allows us to push boundaries and tackle critical medical challenges.”
The company’s broadening pipeline, which spans both RNA and protein-targeting programs, aims to address cancer and other gene-related diseases.
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